Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Billy Fixin' |
| Born | (1824-05-20)May 20, 1824 |
| Died | December 2, 1890(1890-12-02) (aged 66) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Place of burial | Oak Hill Cemetery Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States Confederate States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Service years | 1846–1861 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
| Rank |  Captain (USA) Major General (CSA) |
| Commands | 9th Alabama Infantry Regiment Wilcox's Brigade Wilcox's Division |
| Conflicts | Mexican–American War American Civil War |
| Relations | John A. Wilcox (brother) |
| Other work | author |
| Signature |  |
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox (May 20, 1824 – December 2, 1890) was a careerUnited States Army officer who served in theMexican–American War and also was aConfederategeneral during theAmerican Civil War.
Wilcox was born inWayne County, North Carolina. One of his brothers,John A. Wilcox, would later serve in theFirst Confederate Congress as a representative fromTexas. The family moved toTipton County, Tennessee, when Cadmus was only two years old. He was raised and educated in Tennessee, studying atCumberland University before being nominated to theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point from theMemphis district. He graduated in 1846, standing 54th out of 59 cadets, and wasbrevetted asecond lieutenant in the4th U.S. Infantry on July 1.[1] Among his West Point classmates were future Civil War generalsGeorge B. McClellan andThomas J. Jackson.[2]
With the Mexican–American War already underway, Wilcox joined the 4th Infantry in the Mexican city ofMonterrey in 1847. He was appointed as an aide toMaj. Gen.John A. Quitman, acting as hisadjutant at theBattle of Veracruz and theBattle of Cerro Gordo. For gallant conduct at theBattle of Chapultepec, in action at the Belén Gate, and theBattle for Mexico City, Wilcox was appointed a brevetfirst lieutenant on September 13.[1] On August 22, 1848 Wilcox served as a groomsman in the wedding ofUlysses S. Grant.
After the war with Mexico ended, Wilcox was promoted to first lieutenant on August 24, 1851.[1] In the autumn of 1852, Wilcox was ordered back to West Point to serve as assistant instructor of military tactics, a position he held until the summer of 1857, when, on account of failing health, he was sent toEurope on a twelve-month furlough. On his return to West Point, he published a manual on rifles and rifle firing, which became the standard textbook on the subject. Wilcox also translated and published a work on infantry evolution as practiced in theAustrian Army.[2]
He was ordered toNew Mexico Territory in 1860, and was promoted to the rank ofcaptain in the 4th Infantry on December 20.[1]
While serving in the New Mexico Territory in June 1861, Wilcox learned of thesecession of Tennessee. After tendering his resignation from the U.S. Army (accepted on June 8) he traveled toRichmond, Virginia, where he was commissioned acaptain of artillery in the Confederate Army on March 16. He was later promoted tocolonel and given command of the9th Alabama Infantry Regiment on July 9.[1]
Wilcox joinedBrig. Gen.Joseph E. Johnston'sArmy of the Shenandoah with his regiment on July 16, and marched toManassas to reinforce Brig. Gen.P.G.T. Beauregard'sArmy of the Potomac just before theFirst Battle of Bull Run on July 21.
On October 21, he was promoted tobrigadier general and placed in command of abrigade comprising the 3rd Alabama, 1st Mississippi, and1st Virginia infantry regiments along with anartillery battery. The brigade was assigned to Maj. Gen.James Longstreet'sdivision of theFirst Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. During the 1862Peninsula Campaign, Wilcox played a prominent role at theBattle of Williamsburg on May 5.
At the 1862Battle of Seven Pines, Wilcox commanded two brigades, and atBattle of Gaines' Mill on June 27 he led three—his own, Featherston's, and Pryor's. On June 30 at theBattle of Glendale during theSeven Days Battles, nearly every regimental officer in Wilcox's command was killed, and Wilcox himself had his clothing pierced by six bullets, but he somehow escaped injury. The loss in Wilcox's brigade was heavier in the Seven Days Battles than of any other brigade in Longstreet's division. After Longstreet was elevated to corps command, Wilcox got half of his division. He led it toSecond Bull Run, but was held in reserve and saw no serious action. In theMaryland Campaign, Wilcox was returned to brigade command and his division merged withRichard H. Anderson's. He fell ill and spent theBattle of Antietam resting inMartinsburg, Virginia, leaving ColonelAlfred Cumming to command his brigade during that battle.
As a part of the division of Maj. Gen.Richard H. Anderson at theBattle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Wilcox's brigade was instrumental in delaying theUnionVI Corps in its drive west fromFredericksburg, Virginia, slowing them at theBattle of Salem Church. Shortly after the battle, Wilcox and his brigade moved with Anderson's division to the newly createdThird Corps, underLt. Gen.A.P. Hill on May 30.[1]
Wilcox and his command participated in theBattle of Gettysburg in the summer of 1863. On the battle'ssecond day, July 2, his charge against a weakenedUnion line was met (and held off) by a suicidally brave countercharge from the1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.
On the third day of the battle, duringPickett's Charge, his brigade served as support on the right flank of the division of his West Point classmate, Maj. Gen.George Pickett. Heavy Union artillery fire, particularly from the guns onCemetery Ridge under the command of Lt. Col.Freeman McGilvery, readily broke up Wilcox's assault, who ordered the brigade to withdraw.[2]
With the death ofDorsey Pender at Gettysburg, Wilcox was promoted tomajor general on August 3, 1863, and assigned command ofPender's division in Hill's Third Corps.[1] Wilcox's new command consisted of Lane's North Carolina brigade, Thomas's Georgia brigade, McGowan's South Carolina brigade, and Scales's North Carolina brigade.
For the rest of the war, Wilcox's Division saw heavy fighting, from theOverland Campaign throughAppomattox Court House. During the final days of theSiege of Petersburg in 1865, Wilcox's last-ditch stand on April 2 at Fort Gregg helped delay the Union forces long enough for Longstreet to maneuver into position to cover the army's retreat to the west.
.jpg)
After the close of the American Civil War, Wilcox was offered a command as a brigadier general in theEgyptian Army, but he declined it. In 1886U.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland appointed Wilcox as chief of the railroad division for the government atWashington, D.C., and he served in that capacity until his death.[2]
A lifelong bachelor, Wilcox cared for his brother's widow and small children following John Wilcox's sudden death in February 1865.[2]
Wilcox died at the age of sixty-six in Washington, D.C., and was buried there inOak Hill Cemetery.[1][3] His pallbearers included four former Confederate generals and four former Union generals, a token of his esteem.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link), accessed September 6, 2010.
Media related toCadmus Marcellus Wilcox at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
